Smol has become the biggest homecare brand so far to roll out a paper laundry detergent bottle in the UK, it has claimed.
The sustainable challenger’s innovation was created in partnership with Pulpex, a packaging technology company. Made from wood pulp fibre, it can be put into household paper and card recycling once the plastic dosing cap – which is also easily recyclable – has been removed.
The pack is lined inside with an ultra-thin water-based barrier and has been successfully tested against the 4evergreen recyclability methodology, designed to assess whether fibre packaging will work through conventional paper recycling mills.
Available from Smol later this autumn, the new bottle comes in response to the 58 million plastic laundry liquid containers sold in the UK each year, amounting to more than 8,120 tonnes of plastic.
Smol’s launch arrives five years after Unilever unveiled a prototype paper laundry detergent bottle, claiming a world first for the technology. Made of sustainably sourced pulp and designed to be recycled in standard paper waste streams, it was designed for the fmcg giant’s Omo brand – also known as Persil, Skip and Breeze.
Unilever’s bottle has yet to become available in UK grocery. However, plastic-free homecare brand Eco-Mate offers a similar pack to UK consumers via DTC. It is made from sugar cane waste and recycled paper pulp, lined with natural plant latex and sealed with a bamboo lid.
The chief difference between Smol’s bottle and Eco-Mate’s was scale, said a spokesperson for Smol. “Pulpex has designed its bottle specifically as a solution that can work with industrial manufacturing and filling processes: something that could ultimately replace conventional plastic bottles at serious fmcg volumes.
“That’s a big part of why the technology has attracted a £62m investment round, including £43.5m from the National Wealth Fund, to build its first commercial-scale manufacturing facility in Scotland.”
Another difference was design, the spokesperson added. “Smol’s bottle has been designed as a conventional laundry product, including a recyclable dosing cap, rather than asking consumers to change how they use liquid detergent.”
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